After nearly half a decade trying to make it as a screenwriter, Pasadena resident and Applebee’s waiter Bob Pelford was about to give up hope and move back to Iowa – until a fateful trip to Panda Express on Saturday.

“On the one hand, I’m like $65,000 in debt already,” he said. “On the other, I get this fortune cookie message that basically proves I’m gonna sell a script really soon.”

Added Pelford: “How could I possibly leave LA now, when I’m so close to achieving my goal?”

The 34-year-old scribe, who plans to give the dream “at least one more year” to come to fruition, has been in this situation before.

“I almost gave up two years ago, but then my friend’s cousin, who used to be an intern at ICM, told me one of my scripts was ‘not terrible.’ I knew I was making progress, so I put that month’s rent on my credit card and stuck it out,” said Pelford. “Thanks to my part-time job at Applebee’s, I’m only running a $500 deficit each month. But once I sell my first script, I’ll cover that easy.”

Eleven other people received the same exact fortune cookie over the weekend. Six thought it meant they’d land that role, four felt it predicted successful writing careers, and one man believed it was about his weight loss regimen.